DeLauro announces continued pursuit of Pell Grant funds

Lawmaker also aims to make higher education more accessible

Published 10:28 pm, Monday, April 4, 2016

U.S. Rep. Rosa L. DeLauro, D-3, meets with members of the media after a meeting with state college presidents Monday.

U.S. Rep. Rosa L. DeLauro, D-3, meets with members of the media after a meeting with state college presidents Monday.

Photo: Brian Zahn — New Haven Register

DeLauro announces continued pursuit of Pell Grant funds

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NEW HAVEN >> U.S. Rep. Rosa L. DeLauro, D-3, said meeting with college presidents is an annual tradition for her. Sitting down with presidents, she said, allows her a chance to get a reading of what the biggest issues facing higher education in the state are.

DeLauro met with seven college administrators Monday at Albertus Magnus College in a closed-door meeting to discuss their concerns.

As the senior Democrat member of the Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies subcommittee, DeLauro said she holds these meetings to understand the needs of constitutents.

“The need for us as a society to invest in education is so great,” she said.

Kendrick said she came away from the meeting optimistic about DeLauro’s intentions and her understanding of the financial burden of higher education on students and families.

“The cost of a college education is continuing to rise because states don’t have more money to invest,” Kendrick said. “We asked what we can do to ensure that access to the American dream is not locked out.”

Kendrick said the meeting with DeLauro also afforded her an opportunity to meet with other college presidents, something she does not frequently get to do.

DeLauro declined to draw a connection between proposed cuts to K-12 education at the state level and a lack of college-readiness among Connecticut students, though she said several presidents did lament that fewer students seem prepared for the college level.

“It’s a result of shortchanging preschool and early childhood programs,” she said. “Education doesn’t start at higher education and a number of kids start at college through the remediation process.”

DeLauro said she believes education has always been “the ticket to success” for middle-class and low-income families, and she would not want to see the federal government “shortchange” these families.

“We really are putting at risk our future,” she said.

DeLauro said she buys into the need for greater college affordability, and she is fighting for a higher dollar amount for the Pell grant.